lestar.in

Inspiration

Indonesia is one of the countries with high biodiversity. Behind its dense tropical rainforests are hidden various endemic plants, plants that only grow in certain areas. Unfortunately, over time, with rapid growth and climate change, many endemic plants have been pushed aside and are unknown, and some have even become rare. The lack of public awareness is one of the factors contributing to the low level of conservation of endemic plants. Yet, endemic plants hold ecological, cultural, and even economic value. From this, we decided to create lestar.in, a website aimed at introducing, educating, and encouraging concrete actions in the conservation of Indonesia's endemic plants. Through image scanning and uploading technology, users can easily identify plants around them, determining whether they are endemic or not. Additionally, lestar.in provides information cards, a reporting feature for endemic plant discoveries, and educational content, enabling all segments of society to directly participate in concrete actions for the conservation of endemic plants. We believe that nature conservation is not only the responsibility of the government or nature enthusiasts but the responsibility of all segments of society. With lestar.in, we hope that the younger generation can better understand Indonesia's plant diversity and that all segments of society actively participate in preserving nature.

What it does

An educational and interactive website focused on the conservation of Indonesia's endemic plants. Through its image upload and scan features, users can determine whether a plant is endemic or not. The website also provides plant information cards, a feature for reporting the presence of endemic plants, and educational content based on YouTube videos. Its aim is to increase public awareness, knowledge, and participation in protecting Indonesia's biological diversity.

How we built it

Ideation & Research We began by brainstorming ideas aligned with the given theme. After several discussions, we identified a problem: information about Indonesian endemic plants is hard to find and often scattered. This became our core challenge to solve. We conducted research to:
Identify the most relevant plant species.
Understand the difficulty of accessing data on Indonesian flora.
Explore the feasibility of using AI for plant recognition.
UI/UX Design After understanding our users and their needs, we designed an intuitive and responsive UI/UX: Clean interface to browse plant collections. Accessible scan feature for instant identification. Mobile-first experience to support users in the field (e.g. travelers, students, nature enthusiasts).
Development Process We split the development into Frontend (FE) and Backend (BE): Frontend: Built using modern web technologies such as React.js and Tailwind CSS for performance and responsive design. Backend: Integrated with AI-based image classification APIs to process uploaded plant photos and return identification results. We also set up a plant species directory and database.
Core Features Explore Plants: A directory of endemic flora across Indonesia. Users can learn about plants they’ve never heard of before — right in their own surroundings. Scan Plants: Users can take a photo of a plant and get instant AI-based identification and detailed plant information. ## Challenges we ran into a. UI/UX: The extremely limited time forced us to make design decisions quickly without in-depth user research. b. Data: Obtaining reliable and accountable data, especially on endemic plants, from accurate sources such as images, scientific names, brief descriptions, etc. c. FrontEnd: Waiting for the design process, adjusting the animation so that it is not too heavy d. BackEnd: API and database deployment process ## Accomplishments that we're proud of We have successfully built a platform that combines technology with an environmental mission, introducing a new way to learn about and preserve Indonesia's endemic plants digitally. We built a machine learning-based detection system that allows users to upload images of plants and find out whether they are endemic or not, with a simple and easy-to-use interface. We have compiled and presented information on Indonesia's endemic plants in the form of interesting and educational information cards, complete with local and scientific names, regional origins, and brief descriptions. The lestar.in website is designed with a clean, natural, and intuitive aesthetic to create an enjoyable and educational experience for users from all walks of life. ## What we learned a. Good communication between teams is key b. The need for thorough preparation, such as in-depth research before the competition ## What's next for lestar.in In the future, we plan to add user authentication, a feature for reporting endemic plants in the local area, including image data and GPS locations of these plants, and an educational video feature.